Germany Photo Guide

Best Places to Visit in
Germany

The Rhine Valley

The Rhine Valley, Germany

Lorch, Germany is one of the many pleasant towns along the Rhine River.

The Rhine River,
its towns and scenery make the Rhine Valley Germany one of the most
popular and fascinating attractions in Europe. River cruising on the Rhine is growing in popularity as the travel industry is beginning to see
vacationers choose to move from big boats to smaller boats and new
venues. As you can see from our photographs the
Rhine River and its valley can be incredibly beautiful - and the
region's wines are very good, as well.

The Rhine rises in the Swiss Alps, flows north, creating a border between
France and Germany and then flows across Germany being fed by its
tributaries including the Nekar, the Main and the Moselle, before it enters
the Netherlands, mixes with some other rivers and eventually crosses
a large delta during its exit to the North Sea.

The Rhine has
always been an important transportation corridor, which led many
minor nobles to construct castles on its hillsides to extract
tariffs from passing barges. Often, the positioning of the
castles reflected one-upmanship, as nobles would leapfrog others in
an attempt to be first in line for toll collection. Many of
the castles have fallen into ruin, others can be toured and some are
hotels. Regardless, the castles add an aura of mystery and
history to this wonderful valley.

The Furstenberg castle (closed to the public) sits above the town of Rheindeibach and
across the Rhine (west) from the town of Lorch.

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Below is the town of Bingen am Rhein that is
located at the junction of the Rhine and Nahe rivers. The area around
Bingen is attractive and offers several interesting landmarks. More
information about Bingen can be found at the town's official
tourism information website.

One of the most well-known sites on the Rhine, the Lorelei
(Loreley) Rock
on the east side of the Rhine River south of Sankt Goar (west bank) and Sankt
Goarshausen (east bank), is one of the most notable sites along the Rhine.
In the past, this section of the river was the site of many
boat wrecks due to a narrowing of the channel, minor rapids and the
associated increase in speed of flow of the water. In addition, a legend grew that the murmuring
waters in this area were the voices of the Lorelei, maidens whose
sole purpose in life was to lure unsuspecting sailors to their
deaths.